Overview
- The plea describes Guzmán López preparing a sedative drink, escorting Zambada to a light aircraft and seeking consideration for cooperation with U.S. authorities.
- Both accounts agree on the setup at Rancho Huertos del Pedregal, the forcible restraint, the short drive to a rural strip, the flight and an immediate handover to U.S. agents.
- Key discrepancies persist over the level of violence, the presence of local officials and whether the landing was in New Mexico or El Paso.
- Zambada says he greeted Héctor Melesio Cuén at the ranch and that Cuén was killed there, a finding later stated by the federal prosecutor after discarding the Sinaloa state gas‑station robbery version.
- The case remains open-ended with no arrests in Cuén’s killing, little fresh action from federal authorities and unresolved sovereignty concerns over a transfer outside formal extradition.